MSc Behaviour Change (incorporating PG Dip/PG Cert)

Why choose this course?

The first Master’s course of its kind, our MSc Behaviour Change opens doors to a wide range of fulfilling careers which focus on changing people’s behaviour and helping them to make positive choices.

Join a highly successful, innovative masters programme: 100% of our students said that they were satisfied with the overall quality of the course, according to the 2016 Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES)

Develop an in-depth understanding of human behaviour and behaviour change

Increase your confidence, skills and abilities to foster behaviour change in the context of wellbeing, safety or the natural environment

Specialise in the areas which interest you most, by taking one of four unique pathways (availability of each depends on student numbers)

This is an original and topical course which challenges assumptions about behaviour change. It is aimed at professionals who want to gain new knowledge to support their work, and at graduates from a broad range of disciplines who would like to specialise in behaviour change and add social science to their skill set.

Pioneering a new area of study

Behaviour change has found a place at the heart of UK policy making, with an emphasis on finding innovative ways of encouraging, enabling and supporting people to make better choices for themselves. It plays a key role in health, safety and environmental initiatives.

Our MSc fills a gap in high quality postgraduate education covering this topical subject. It covers psychological theories and models so that you can develop a greater understanding of human behaviour and behaviour change.

You’ll also gain the transferable skills you need to design, deliver and evaluate interventions that provide opportunities for people to change in a variety of practical contexts.

Specialist pathways

We offer four pathways to a named masters award in Behaviour Change, allowing you to focus on the area in which you are most interested, which reflects your current job role or which meets your employers’ needs. They are:

MSc Behaviour Change (Health and Wellbeing)

MSc Behaviour Change (Occupational Health and Safety)

MSc Behaviour Change (Environment and Conservation)

MSc Behaviour Change (Ergonomics and Human Factors)

While the chance to specialise is a key element of the course, you’ll also benefit from exchanging views and experiences with students on other pathways. This underlines the way behaviour change initiatives often take a multidisciplinary approach.

If you’d like to find out more about any of the four pathways, please contact Dr Sigrid Lipka (email: s.lipka@derby.ac.uk; tel 01332 593052).

A flexible learning experience

Our course has a structure as innovative as its content, enabling you to integrate your studies with your work and other commitments. It features three-day study blocks at our Kedleston Road campus, totalling nine days per year. You’ll also engage in guided learning and research activities at times to suit you.

You can either complete the full MSc in your chosen pathway over three years, or take a ‘step-off’ award after one year with the generic Postgraduate Certificate or after two years with the Postgraduate Diploma in your named pathway.

Although the pathways share several modules, they are distinctive and tailored to your particular interests. For all module coursework, you’ll focus on the specialist contexts that matter to you and are aligned with your practical experience.

At the start of your second year, you’ll take a pathway-specific module. In your masters research project in the final year, you will then conduct an independent study into an aspect of behaviour change which relates to your chosen pathway.

A teaching team to inspire you

You’ll be taught by a dedicated team of psychology and ergonomics experts whose research underpins and enriches this course. They are conducting studies into a broad spectrum of topics including body esteem, the management of painful conditions, smoking cessation, coping with stress, ageing and social inclusion, health and safety, people’s connection to nature, and language and communication.

Our staff have close links with professional bodies such as the British Psychological Society as well as major employers and stakeholders within the health, ergonomics and environmental sectors. Thanks to these wider professional networks, the course features opportunities for you to hear from influential guest speakers who can share their experiences of behaviour change interventions.

As part of our thriving academic community, we also have a Centre for Psychological Research which advances our studies in everything from wellbeing, health and weight loss to anxiety and compassion. It offers a range of consultancy services and runs regular research seminars.

This course is made up of three stages: Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, and MSc.

Postgraduate Certificate in Behaviour Change

In year one, you’ll study three modules such as:

Psychology for Behaviour Change

Theories and Models of Behaviour

Applied Behaviour Change Interventions

Postgraduate Diploma in Behaviour Change (in named pathway)

In your second year, you’ll study a further three modules, such as:

Research and Evaluation

Systems Context

The third module in year two is specific to your chosen pathway:

Positive Psychology, Health and Wellbeing

Occupational Health and Safety and Behaviour Change

Environment and Behaviour

Ergonomics and Human Factors

MSc in Behaviour Change (in named pathway)

In your third year, you’ll undertake a masters research project module, which runs over three terms:

Research Project in Behaviour Change

Under the supervision of a member of the programme team, you’ll identify a research issue related to behaviour change in your chosen pathway, review existing literature, formulate novel research questions and - applying all relevant ethical guidelines and principles - test these questions through the application of contemporary psychological methodologies and appropriate data analysis and scientific report writing.

UK/EU Students

2016/17 Fees (August 2016 - July 2017)

*Note – at postgraduate level, you’ll need to gain the following number of credits in total to obtain the awards below.

Postgraduate Certificate

60 Credits

Postgraduate Diploma

120 Credits

MA or MSc

180 Credits

This means you will gain 180 credits in total to complete the full MA or MSc. If you’re studying full-time you will normally complete 180 credits over one year. If you are studying part time you will normally complete your studies over two or three years, depending on the course structure.

Alumni discount for Derby graduates

You’ll be taught by a dedicated team of research-active health and cognitive psychologists and ergonomists who all have expert knowledge of psychological theory, practice, and research. You’ll benefit from exchanges with students across our Behaviour Change pathways, thus increasing your multidisciplinary outlook. As part of the course you’ll undertake your own research project, specialising in an area of behaviour change that particularly interests you and that is relevant to your current work or career aspirations.

Our MSc Behaviour Change programme combines research-led teaching with an innovative portfolio of assessments to ensure you develop both the knowledge and transferable skills necessary for employment in a number of sectors promoting behavior change.

The course is offered as a part-time degree and it is unique in that it combines periods of flexible learning throughout the duration of each term with on-campus study blocks amounting to a total of nine days attendance per year. Each module has an on-campus study block of three days of lectures, seminars and guided activities. In addition, you have access to our bespoke study materials and learning activities which you’ll engage with in your own time, giving you the flexibility to study at the most convenient time and place for you. The nine-day on-campus attendance per year fits well with a typical ten-day industry allocation for staff development, so if you’re self-funding it allows you to continue to work full-time. In addition, new students attend our two-day induction event at the start of the academic year.

Assessment

You'll be assessed via coursework. There will be many activities to thoroughly prepare you for your coursework. Assessments are matched to the individual module learning outcomes, which are derived from the course aims and learning outcomes.

Andrew Baird (occupational safety & health, with a particular focus on musculoskeletal disorders, pain and the psychological issues involved in both the experience and management of painful conditions)

Dr Miles Richardson (people's connection to nature and benefits for well-being and pro-conservation behaviour, assembly task complexity, children's construction play and its association with maths ability)

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will be communicated after enrolment on your course.

Our MSc Behaviour Change course could be your stepping stone to employment and promotion opportunities in the health sector, local government and occupational health and safety roles.

It also provides a suitable qualification if you’re working in allied areas and want to progress your career by branching out into a specialist area. You could, for instance, be a physiotherapist or an occupational health and safety professional keen to broaden your skill set by focusing on behaviour change.

In addition, the MSc Behaviour Change provides a strong basis for further study in the form of a PhD.

"Returning to academia 30 years on from leaving school was a daunting prospect but the lecturers at Derby have eased me into the groove! The learning is really well paced, enabling me to balance home study with work, and the mix of block study and distance learning is just right. The course is pioneering and we are made to feel like pioneers through engaged debate and challenging assignments which have been carefully plotted to extend our learning as each topic is introduced. Year one has been fascinating so far and the learning has already provided me with ample opportunity to apply new knowledge and techniques in the workplace."